Offshore cooks threaten Christmas roast dinner ban

Union cooks on offshore platforms will vote on restricting catering to cold vegetarian meals, including a ban on Christmas dinners, under unusual industrial action.

Offshore workers could be denied a hot roast lunch this Christmas.

Union cooks on offshore platforms will vote on restricting catering to cold vegetarian meals, including a ban on Christmas roast dinners, while refusing to serve coffee, do laundry and repair TVs under unusual industrial action designed to lift the pay of workers by 20 per cent.

Australian Workers Union members will consider bans on the preparation of hot meals, any dishes containing meat or seafood, baking of bread and cakes, meals containing egg, cream milk or yoghurt, and beverages except water, fruit juice and cordial.

In an escalation of their dispute with catering contractor Sodexo Australia, union members will also vote on banning the collection or delivery of laundry, the servicing and cleaning of rooms, the restocking of vending machines and the performance of TV maintenance.

As well as stoppages ranging from one hour to 24 hours, workers will consider an “unlimited number of indefinite or periodic bans on the preparation and serving of all theme-based meals, including themes based on holidays and religious events such as Christmas, New Year and Easter, and themes based on types of cuisines such as Mexican or Italian”.

The Offshore Alliance unions, made up of the AWU and the Maritime Union of Australia, claimed the “belligerence” of Sodexo during their current bargaining dispute threatened to “ruin Christmas for offshore workers”.Offshore Alliance spokesman and AWU Western Australian secretary Brad Gandy said members had decided to apply to the Fair Work Commission to take protected industrial action after rejecting a pay offer that represented a real wage cut for many of the workers.

“Offshore Alliance members will soon vote on whether they will refuse to bake bread, or serve meat, tea or coffee, or hot breakfasts in pursuit of a fair pay outcome,” Mr Gandy said.

“They will soon vote on whether they will refuse to serve any meat, poultry, or seafood, launder clothes or clean rooms.

“If Sodexo persists in its hostility toward its own workers, perhaps offshore workers on facilities serviced by Sodexo not getting a roast dinner for Christmas will get their attention.”

Voting on the 29 forms of industrial action will close on November 20 and workers will be required to give five days’ notice before taking action. The proposed bans mirror action threatened by the AWU during bargaining in 2020.

According to the union, Sodexo workers are paid 15 per cent below the industry standard and changes to roster practices will result in some workers earning 20 per cent less than colleagues performing the same work.

Union officials said the Sodexo workers were paid between $120,000 and $160,000 a year, while workers doing the same job for other companies earned $130,000 to $170,000 annually.

Mr Gandy said Sodexo was also refusing to provide accrued annual leave for employees.

He said union members recently rejected a proposed enterprise agreement that would have meant a pay cut for many workers when measured against inflation.

For any other employer, Sodexo’s stand “would be unthinkable during a cost-of-living crisis”, he said.

“In response to that ballot outcome the geniuses at Sodexo just put a new one to a vote without any bargaining in between and no attempt to talk further with the union. It’s incredible to watch,” Mr Gandy said.

“Sodexo’s behaviour during bargaining has been just as bad – refusing to recognise union bargaining representatives, holding meetings at times the union was unavailable to attend, and unilaterally determining our members’ claims as ‘closed’ despite not dealing with them in any way.”

He said the employees performed challenging work in a remote location in an industry literally making billions of dollars. “We have Sodexo employees covered by this agreement who get paid 20 per cent less than their colleagues performing the same work,” he said.

A Sodexo spokesman said the company “had been negotiating in good faith and is dedicated to finding a fair solution for all parties involved, considering the current market and economic conditions”.

“Sodexo is exploring all possible solutions to ensure business continuity and maintain service delivery in response to any industrial action taken, and is committed to working with all parties to reach a reasonable and sustainable outcome,” he said.

The spokesman said the company was unable to discuss specific details outside the bargaining meetings. “Our goal is to secure improved terms and conditions for our people while ensuring that Sodexo remains competitive in the industry and can continue to provide sustainable work into the future,” he said.